18 de julio de 1994: Apple lanzó las computadoras Macintosh Quadra, LC y Performa 630, tres computadoras similares con pequeñas diferencias diseñadas específicamente para los mercados de uso profesional, educativo y empresarial. Dirigidas al uso multimedia, las nuevas computadoras Mac de la serie 630 ofrecen hardware y software innovadores a un precio más razonable que las computadoras Apple anteriores.
Macs serie 630: todo para todos
Los compradores pueden configurar nuevas Mac de la serie 630 por menos de 2.000 dólares. Si bien la idea de pagar más de $2000 no es una buena idea. $4200 (Ajustado por inflación) Una computadora multimedia decente parece demasiado cara hoy en día. En 1994, las nuevas Mac parecían una ganga total.
Las Mac de gama alta anteriores, Quadra 700 y Quadra 900, costaban entre 6.000 y 8.500 dólares. Esto equivale a entre $12,700 Y $18,000 En dólares 2024.
Apple quería reducir este precio y al mismo tiempo ofrecer a los usuarios la posibilidad de aprovechar nuevas tecnologías interesantes como la unidad de CD-ROM y la versión 2.0 de Software multimedia QuickTimeY una ranura de conexión para módem o tarjeta Ethernet.
Apple agrega dispositivos multimedia a los dispositivos Mac
Cupertino también lanzó tres nuevas incorporaciones multimedia que brindan a los nuevos Mac de la serie 630 una gran cantidad de capacidades:
La tarjeta de video de Apple ofrece video compuesto, una entrada de S-video, una entrada de audio, una superposición de video y una ventana de video de 320×240.
Apple Video/TV agregó un sintonizador de TV, control remoto de TV y CD-ROM al Apple Video básico.
Gama alta sistema de visualización de Apple Permitir a los usuarios enviar videos a televisores de pantalla grande e imprimirlos en cintas de VCR.
La gran diferencia entre el Quadra y los otros dos modelos se debía a los procesadores de su interior. El Quadra 630 fue el último Mac diseñado Procesador motorola 68040Mientras más barato Motorola 68LC040 Se están ejecutando las versiones LC y Performa. Todos operaban a 33 MHz.
En general, las Mac de la serie 630 eran máquinas buenas, aunque no necesariamente inspiradoras. Apple intentó atraer clientes convencionales con Mac multimedia. Los modelos educativo y doméstico (LC y Performa, respectivamente) eran menos potentes que el Quadra, dirigido a profesionales. Sin embargo, ha demostrado tener más éxito que la versión empresarial. Muchos consideraron que el modelo avanzado Quadra no cumple con las tareas principales de sus usuarios.
Apple ha seguido caminando en esta línea a lo largo de los años, tratando de ser todo para todas las personas sin ir demasiado lejos en ninguna dirección.
¿Tienes una Mac Quadra, LC o Performa 630? Cuéntanos cómo usaste estas Mac multimedia en la sección de comentarios a continuación.
May 3, 1984: Apple marks the all-important first 100 days of Mac sales, signaling whether the product launch is a hit with customers.
The results outstrip even Steve Jobs’ most optimistic targets. Unfortunately, not everything is as positive as it seems following the successful Mac launch.
Original Macintosh launch
It’s easy to forget today, but when Apple launched the Macintosh in 1984, the company was coming off a couple of high-profile failures. The Apple II remained a big seller. However, attempts to produce a successor in the form of the Lisa and the Apple III failed miserably.
Beyond a doubt, the Mac represented an immense technical achievement. However, the first-gen Macintosh 128K was also slow and underpowered. In addition, Apple still faced the threat of the IBM PC — a more serious, “respectable” choice for many people shopping for their first personal computers.
On top of this, the Mac cost a lot. Although much cheaper than some Macs that Apple would later produce (even adjusted for inflation), it still cost $2,500 in 1984 dollars — the equivalent of more than $7,500 today. This stood in stark opposition to the way the Mac project started under Jeff Raskin, with the idea of producing an everyday computer for $500 or less.
Nonetheless, Jobs remained confident. He predicted that Apple would sell 50,000 Macs in its first 100 days. Apple smashed that number by April 6. By May 3 — or day 100 — Apple had sold 72,000 Macs.
Buoyed by this early success, Apple began building up a massive inventory of Macs. The company ramped up manufacturing to a rate of 110,000 Macs per month. However, early adopter sales did not accurately reflect mainstream public demand for the new computer.
Sales slowed, and Apple did not hit the 1 million Mac mark until March 1987. Far from a repeat of the Apple III failure, the Mac nevertheless became an early setback for the company.
In the aftermath, Apple CEO John Sculley dreamed up the “Test Drive a Macintosh” campaign. The goal? Encourage average customers to give Apple’s revolutionary new computer a chance.
Before too long, Jobs was forced out of Apple. He went on to run two companies, NeXT and Pixar, that produced even more-expensive computers.
Apple silicon chip powers new era of Macs
After decades of using other companies’ processors to power Macs, Apple announced its plan to switch to its own custom chips in 2020. The resulting launch of the first Apple silicon-powered machines sparked a Mac renaissance similar in some ways to the heady success of the Mac’s first 100 days.
Apple’s proprietary M1 chip made Macs faster and more power-efficient. In fact, the performance of the M1 MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini stunned the world.
The new Mac lineup also proved popular with consumers, many of whom found themselves working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple reported record Mac revenues of $9.1 billion for the first three months of 2021. Apple’s M2 chip, released in 2022, raised the performance bar even higher. And the M3 processor, which arrived in November 2023, boosted Mac performance even more.
April 27, 2008: Psystar’s first Mac clones ship to customers. The new Open Computer means that, for the first time since the mid-1990s, there’s no need to assemble a “hackintosh” to run OS X on a non-Apple computer.
Unlike previous clone Macs, however, these low-priced computers don’t come with Cupertino’s blessing. Naturally, a fight ensues.
A brief history of Mac clones
Anyone old enough to remember Apple in the 1990s should remember clone Macs, the third-party computers that ran Apple’s operating system. The clone Mac era began in 1994, when Cupertino licensed its OS to companies like Power Computing and Radius.
Cupertino’s goal? To grow the Apple brand.
However, Apple quickly realized it lost money on the deal. The tiny licensing fees generated less revenue than selling genuine Macs to customers. Instead of more Macs, the strategy resulted in cheaper Macs.
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he ended the clone Macs scheme, buying out the remaining licenses as he focused on returning Apple to profitability. The last Mac clone-maker, Power Computing, closed shop in early 1998.
A decade later, Apple sat on top of the world. Aside from restoring the prestige of its Mac division, the company launched the iPhone, the iTunes Music Store and the iPod (at the time, Cupertino’s most profitable product). No good reason compelled Apple to get back into the clone business. But that did not stop clone-makers from wanting to cash in on Apple’s success.
Enter the Psystar Open Computer
Do you remember the Open Computer? Photo: Psystar
One such company was Miami-based Psystar Corporation, founded by Rudy and Robert Pedraza. Announced in April 2008, Psystar manufactured the first commercially distributed hackintosh computers. The machines could come with Mac OS X Leopard preinstalled.
To make this possible, Psystar adapted tech from the OSx86 Project, a collaborative hacking effort to get OS X running on standard PCs with x86 architecture on x86-64 processors.
Psystar’s Open Computer came with a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 processor, 2GB of DDR2 667 memory, integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics, 20x DVD+/-R SATA drive, gigabit Ethernet and four rear USB ports. (Customers could tweak and upgrade these components if they wished.) Prices started at $399, while a fully kitted-out OpenPro machine running OS X could stretch to $1,154.99.
The company’s press materials noted that:
“The Open Computer is a PC that works just like a Mac. With the Open Computer you can run OS X natively as if you had purchased an expensive Apple computer except that, while paying less, you receive more. Apple’s entry-level computer, the Mac Mini, is a small and not very powerful machine. When comparing base configurations, the Mac Mini costs 150% of the price of the Open Computer while offering poorer performance, smaller storage space, and RAM. Not only that but the Mac Mini doesn’t have the option for an nVidia GeForce 8600 video card like the Open Computer does so playing games on it is a lost cause.”
Apple sues Psystar over clone Macs
It didn’t take Apple’s legal team long to spring into action. By July, Cupertino had filed a copyright-infringement suit against the small PC-maker.
Apple argued that Psystar’s clones violated the Mac OS X software licensing agreement. Cupertino accused the clone-maker of “direct and contributory copyright infringement, trademark and trade dress infringement, and violation of state and common law unfair competition laws.” Apple also accused Psystar of violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Psystar hit back. The clone-maker argued that Cupertino abused its Mac OS X copyright by forcing customers wanting to run the operating system to use Apple computers. Ultimately, a U.S. District Court ruled in Apple’s favor in 2009, handing the company a permanent injunction against Psystar.
One of the last products Psystar sold was a T-shirt reading: “I sued Psystar, and all I got was a lousy injunction.” In the end, Apple got a little more than that: Psystar agreed to pay Apple $2.67 million in damages.
Also new in Safari is the ability to separate the browser via profiles, meaning you can create one profile for work and another for your personal life. It splits your history, extensions, cookies, Tab Groups, and Favorites, and it’s easy to switch back and forth.
You can also now create web apps that allow you to turn your favorite websites into an app-like experience that you can place in the dock. Instead of opening a browser window, these web apps launch and act like traditional macOS apps when you click on them. You can get notifications from them, and even segment them in tools like Stage Manager.
Additionally, Apple is making it easy to share passwords with shared accounts. When you create a group, everyone is able to add and edit passwords and share them through iCloud Keychain (with end-to-end encryption).
More With Messages
Video: Apple
As with iOS 17, Apple brought a few new upgrades to the Messages app. Building on inline replies first introduced with iOS 14, you can swipe right to quickly reply to a specific message instead of having to long-press on it each time.
Improvements have been made to search within Messages. Whenever you search for something, results are now divided into categories like people, keywords, photos, and links, making them easier to find. There’s also a one-time passcode cleanup feature that automatically deletes one-time passcodes through AutoFill—which helps clean up your list of conversations. The company is also making a big push for Stickers. Any stickers you create with iOS or iPadOS (including Live Stickers made using Live Photos) are now accessible on your Mac too.
Game Mode
Video: Apple
Gaming on an M-series Mac? You’ll appreciate the new Game Mode feature for graphically intensive titles. It ensures the Mac gives high priority to the CPU and GPU while you’re playing a game, delivering a smoother experience with consistent frame rates. It also lowers the audio latency when you’re using AirPods and reduces input latency with supported PlayStation and Xbox controllers.
Communication Safety Features
Photograph: Apple
To prevent people from unexpectedly viewing sensitive images in Messages, AirDrop, FaceTime messages, and third-party apps, users now have the option to enable a Sensitive Content Warning. That way, photos and videos containing nudity will be blurred, with the option to choose whether you want to see them and the ability to block the contact who sent them. Expanding on the communication safety features for children in iOS 15, parents and guardians can blur sensitive videos (in addition to photos) that their children send or receive as well. The feature also works with the Photos app when opened within Messages.
New Screen Savers
Video: Apple
If you love the preloaded screensavers that come with your Mac, you’ll be happy to hear that new options are here. There are slow-motion videos of locations from all around the world, including Arizona, California, and Hong Kong. The login prompt has also moved to the bottom of the screen, so it no longer gets in the way of the image on your display.
An Improved Typing Experience
Courtesy of Apple
It’s no secret that Apple’s Autocorrect isn’t the most accurate. And regardless of whether you’re on iPhone, iPad, or Mac, it can be a super frustrating feature. Using “enhanced on-device language models,” Autocorrect fixes typos more accurately. Autocorrected words are also now underlined temporarily—making it easier to keep up with what’s been changed as you’re typing. With a new inline predictive text capability, you’ll also see single and multi-word predictions based on what you’re typing to help you finish the message faster.
Accessibility Features
Photograph: Apple
MacOS Sonoma includes a wide range of new accessibility features for vision, cognitive, and speech support. Among the list of capabilities are phonetic suggestions that appear when dictating and editing text via Voice Control; animated images (like GIFs) that can be paused in Safari or Messages; Live Speech, where users can type messages to be spoken aloud during FaceTime and phone calls; the option to customize text size on Mac apps; and the ability to connect Made for iPhone hearing devices to your Mac (available on the 2021 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, 2022 Mac Studio, and Mac computers with an M2 chip).
Transcripts With Apple Podcasts
When using Apple’s Podcasts app, you can now simultaneously listen to a podcast episode and read the transcript on your Mac. You can within the transcript for certain lines and keywords too. It’s currently available for English, Spanish, German, and French-language podcasts.
Upgrades to the Notes App
If you’re struggling to keep track of all your notes, you’ll be relieved to know that Apple has added the option to link them to each other. You no longer have to scroll through the app to find what you’re looking for. You now have access to new text styles as well, including Block Quote (which offsets a section of writing with a quote bar) and Monostyled Text (with inset text and a visible background). For more layouts and formatting tools, you can also open a specific note in the Pages app.
New Emoji
Photograph: Emojipedia
With MacOS 14.4, you now have new emoji to pick from including a phoenix, a broken chain, a shaking head, a brown mushroom, and more. You’ll also have four new family emoji, six people emoji now available in both directions (like “Person Walking Facing Right”), and four non-gender family emoji.
Additional Features:
Reminders: Putting together a grocery list? Reminders will automatically sort the items you add based on categories. It will also remember your preferences whenever you change how items are grouped. And a new Column View organizes sections into columns across your screen.
Find My: You can add up to five other people to your Find My network accessories or AirTags. Those added will be able to follow the item on the map or play a sound to help pinpoint the location of the item.
Siri: The days of “Hey Siri” are gone. All you have to do is say “Siri” to trigger the voice assistant. This feature will only be available for Macs running an M-series chip.
Photos: In addition to recognizing people, the Photo app can (finally) automatically recognize cats and dogs.
Visual Lookup: With the Look Up tool, you can get more information on the subject of a photo. For example, if it’s a photo of food, you can use the feature to find recipes for similar dishes. You can use Visual Lookup in paused video frames too.
Home App: A new Activity History feature now allows you to see who locked or unlocked the door (and when), as well as recent activity for contact sensors, garage doors, and your security system.
Apple Music: You’ll be able to invite friends to join a playlist, giving them the ability to add, remove, or reorder songs.
Enhanced AutoFill for PDFs: You’ll be able to fill out PDFs in Preview using enhanced AutoFill. It will identify fillable fields—like your name, address, and email—and automatically input the information for you.
Catch Up Arrow: Whether you’re in a group chat or a private conversation, coming back to tons of new messages is overwhelming. A new “catch-up” arrow will bring you to the first new message with a simple tap—so you no longer have to scroll up to find it yourself.
AppleCare & Warranty: You now can check your coverage for all devices signed in with your Apple ID through Settings.
Safari Favorites Bar: You can now choose to show only icons for your favorite websites. All you have to do is right-click on the specific site, and de-select “Show Title.” It’ll then automatically appear as an icon.
Updates in Messages for Business: In Messages, you can now opt-in to receive updates like flight notifications, order status, fraud alerts, and more.
Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman recently reported that the first Macs with M4 series chips will be released later this year, with more models to follow next year. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman shared a more specific roadmap for these Macs.
1. A low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4, coming around the end of 2024. 2. A 24-inch iMac with the M4, also expected around the end of the year. 3. New 14-inch and 16-inch high-end MacBook Pros with M4 Pro/Max chips, due between the end of 2024 and early 2025. 4. A Mac mini in both M4 and M4 Pro configurations, coming between the end of 2024 and early 2025. 5. New 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Airs, slated for around spring 2025. 6. A Mac Studio with a high-end M4 chip, coming around the middle of 2025. 7. A Mac Pro with an M4 Ultra chip, due in the second half of 2025.
Gurman reiterated that Apple has internally tested an M3 Ultra chip, which would be suitable for the Mac Studio and the Mac Pro, but he said it is “all but assured that at least some of Apple’s high-end desktops” will skip the M3 chip series.
Gurman said that Apple will emphasize the artificial intelligence capabilities of the M4 chip series.
iOS 18 is expected to be the “biggest” update in the iPhone’s history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more…
Apple’s iPhone 16 Plus may come in seven colors that either build upon the existing five colors in the standard iPhone 15 lineup or recast them in a new finish, based on a new rumor out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker Fixed focus digital, Apple’s upcoming larger 6.7-inch iPhone 16 Plus model will come in the following colors, compared to the colors currently available for the…
Apple will begin updating its Mac lineup with M4 chips in late 2024, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The M4 chip will be focused on improving performance for artificial intelligence capabilities. Last year, Apple introduced the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips all at once in October, so it’s possible we could see the M4 lineup come during the same time frame. Gurman says that the entire…
Apple’s hardware roadmap was in the news this week, with things hopefully firming up for a launch of updated iPad Pro and iPad Air models next month while we look ahead to the other iPad models and a full lineup of M4-based Macs arriving starting later this year. We also heard some fresh rumors about iOS 18, due to be unveiled at WWDC in a couple of months, while we took a look at how things …
Best Buy this weekend has a big sale on Apple MacBooks and iPads, including new all-time low prices on the M3 MacBook Air, alongside the best prices we’ve ever seen on MacBook Pro, iPad, and more. Some of these deals require a My Best Buy Plus or My Best Buy Total membership, which start at $49.99/year. In addition to exclusive access to select discounts, you’ll get free 2-day shipping, an…
Apple will begin updating its Mac lineup with M4 chips in late 2024, according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. The M4 chip will be focused on improving performance for artificial intelligence capabilities.
Last year, Apple introduced the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips all at once in October, so it’s possible we could see the M4 lineup come during the same time frame. Gurman says that the entire Mac lineup is slated to get the M4 across late 2024 and early 2025.
The iMac, low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, high-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini machines will be updated with M4 chips first, followed by the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models in spring 2025, the Mac Studio in mid-2025, and the Mac Pro later in 2025.
Apple is said to be nearing production of the M4 processor, and it is expected to come in at least three main varieties. Chips are codenamed Donan for the low-end, Brava for the mid-tier, and Hidra for the top-end. The Donan chip will be used in the entry-level MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air machines, and the low-end Mac mini, and the Brava chips will be used in the higher-end MacBook Pro and the higher-end Mac mini.
The Hidra chip is designed for the Mac Pro, which suggests it is an “Ultra” or “Extreme” tier chip. As for the Mac Studio, Apple is testing versions with an unreleased M3-era chip and a variation of the M4 Brava processor that would presumably be higher tier than the M4 Pro and M4 Max “Brava” chips.
M4 versions of the Mac desktops could support as much as 512GB Unified Memory, which would be a marked jump over the current 192GB limit.
The M4 chips will be built on the same 3-nanometer process as the M3 chips, but Apple supplier TSMC will likely use an improved version of the 3nm process for boosts in performance and power efficiency. Apple also plans to add a much improved Neural Engine that has an increased number of cores for AI tasks.
After Apple’s thunderous launch of the M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max chips a few months ago, these chips are expected to roll out as spec bumps in the MacStudio, Mac Pro and Mac mini later this year.
And an M4 MacBook Pro is a possibility for this fall.
What to expect from Mac in 2024: M3 here, there and everywhere
Throughout the rest of 2024, Apple is expected to finish updating its Mac lineup to the new M3 chip that debuted in November in the MacBook Pro and iMac.
But we’re still looking ahead to Apple bringing the M3 and M3 Pro to the Mac mini, with the high-end M3 Max chip and expected M3 Ultra chip headed for the Mac Studio desktop and Mac Pro tower. And there just might be an M4 MacBook Pro in the fall.
None of these machines are expected to be significantly redesigned or changed in price.
The Mac mini is a popular choice for a modular setup. Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
The Mac mini with M3 and Mac mini with M3 Pro could debut at any time — even at WWDC24. These new models would replace the existing M2 and M2 Pro models at the same prices, with the M3 and M3 Pro chips first seen on the MacBook Pro.
Today, there’s no way to get the power of the M3 chip in the cheaper desktop form factor. If you want Apple’s latest and greatest, you must pay a roughly $700 premium for an iMac or MacBook Pro.
The Mac mini is far from the most glamorous Mac in the lineup. However, its modular form factor makes it a top pick for independent creators, small businesses and server farms.
Mac Studio M3 and Mac Pro M3
Apple’s high-end desktop Macs are not a priority for the company. That much should hold steady through 2024. Photo: Apple
According to Bloomberg, the Mac Studio and Mac Pro will not receive updates until late 2024 or early 2025. However, a more recent report from a different source indicated the Mac Studio is on Apple’s agenda for around the middle of this year.
Any delay would likely be the result of limited manufacturing capacity of the three-nanometer process, a cutting-edge technology used to make the M3 family of chips. As the Mac Studio and Mac Pro are the lowest-volume sellers, with the highest-spec and highest-complexity chips, they will be the last to ship — just like before.
The two high-end macOS desktops likely will receive the M3 Max chip and introduce a new M3 Ultra chip, with double the specs and performance. The M3 Ultra, then, should be configurable up to a 32-core CPU, 80-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine and 256GB of unified memory.
MacBook Pro M4
The M3 MacBook Pro will remain the latest and greatest for another year at least. Photo: Apple
Will Apple debut updated MacBook Pros with M4 chips before the end of 2024? It’s highly unlikely Apple will begin rolling out M4 chips before the M3 generation is finished. If you’re waiting for a MacBook Pro with M4, you may have to wait until March or June of 2025.
Apple’s M4 chip reportedly will be manufactured using an “enhanced” three-nanometer process that is likely to bring a significant boost to performance per watt. Apple could tune this to either increase performance with the same battery life, maintain performance with a significant bump in battery life, or strike a balance somewhere in the middle.
I suspect M4 will be the first “must-have” Mac upgrade for anyone still on an M1-generation chip.
An M1 Ultra Mac Studio is one of the great deals you can score with Woot. Photo: Apple
You may not want to spend top dollar on a new Mac or iPad, but how about bargain-basement deals on older Apple gear? That’s what Amazon bargain site Woot! asks with its latest sale on 40 items.
As the site says: “Apple iMacs, MacBooks, and iPads: Whether you need a big-screen powerhouse, a portable productivity partner, or a tablet to rule them all, we’ve got the iDevices you crave.”
You’ve got a little over a week to shop a wide range of Apple computers, some rather old (and really cheap) and some not so long in the tooth. The sale ends at 10 p.m. Pacific on April 6. See some highlights below.
And if you’re in the market for new Apple accessories, Woot! also offers $3 off with promo code APPLEBITE (although that sale ends March 31.)
Woot sale on Macs and iPads brings bargain-basement deals
Woot’s sale through April 6 covers 40 Macs and iPads (and a few accessories, like iPad keyboards). The oldest Mac dates back to 2014 (!), but much of the gear hails from 2020 through 2023.
And just one product is sold out so far — a 2022 13.3-inch M2 MacBook Pro. That leaves 27 MacBooks, three iMacs, one Mac mini, one Mac Studio, three iPads and two iPad keyboard folios for you to check out.
See some Woot sale on Macs and iPads highlights below.
MacBook Pro and MacBook Air combine to account for a staggering 90% of Apple’s Mac sales. That’s according to a new report Wednesday about best-selling Macs from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP).
The laptops’ dominant popularity over desktop Macs has long been evident. But the new report showing 2023 data really puts an exclamation point on it.
Best-selling Macs: MacBook Pro and MacBook Air make up 90% of Apple’s Mac sales
iPhone may be Apple’s biggest business line when it comes to earnings. But MacBooks dominate its computer sales to an amazing degree, new CIRP research showed.
MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, by far the best-selling Macs, account for 90% of Apple’s computer sales in the United States.
In addition, MacBook Pro models make up a little more than half of total sales. MacBook Air models capture 39%.
Among the iPhone giant’s top-selling desktop computers, iMac captures 4% of total sales, with and Mac Pro at 3%. And that means Mac mini and Mac Studio grab even lower sales shares, roughly 1% apiece. See the second chart below.
Buyers prefer the bigger laptops
The bigger MacBooks are most popular. Photo: CIRP
CIRP organized its findings on laptop sales by display size, noting that screen size is foremost on consumers’ minds when making a purchase. It said “almost half or more of consumers buy the larger form factor” (16-inch MacBook Pro and 15-inch MacBook Air; see chart above).
CIRP speculated about consumer choices and Apple sales strategy:
“We theorize that increasingly compact laptops, with smaller screen bezels and thinner, lighter chassis, make the larger screen models more practical and accessible,” it said. “These 15- and 16-inch laptops are positively svelte compared to their bulky ancestors.”
Computers aren’t going away anytime soon
MacBook Pro and MacBook Air dominate Mac sales. Photo: CIRP
The group also showed some optimism for the continued profitability of computers.
“This preference may help explain why Apple continues to feature laptops,” it said. “Besides its origins as a computer manufacturer and the role these computers play in the overall hardware, software and services ecosystem, there’s still significant revenue and profit in computers.”
And CIRP gave most of the credit for that to the larger laptops among the best-selling Macs.
“The larger form factors actually drive revenue and profits,” it noted. “In the same way that Apple encourages customers to upgrade iPhone and iPad storage, the larger form factor and display size presumably boost margin, as the added component costs are more than covered by increased prices.”
Earlier this week, Apple announced new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models, the first Mac updates of the year featuring M3 series chips. But there are other Macs in Apple’s lineup still to be updated to the latest M3 processors.
So, where do the Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro fit into Apple’s M3 roadmap for the year ahead? Here’s what the latest rumors say.
Mac Mini
Apple announced M2 and M2 Pro Mac mini models in January 2023, which at the time of writing is over 400 days ago.
Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman said in July that he believes a new Mac mini won’t emerge until late 2024 at the earliest, and we haven’t heard any other rumors that move the dial since then. On the other hand, Apple may choose not to upgrade the Mac mini this year and skip the M3 entirely. Approximately 26 months passed between the launch of the M1 Mac mini and the update to the M2 Mac mini. Going forward, perhaps the company has an 18-month upgrade cycle in mind, which would mean we could see an M4 Mac mini in the spring of 2025.
Mac Studio
Apple updated the Mac Studio with M2 series chips in June 2023. Mac Studio models come with either the M2 Max or M2 Ultra chip, so logic would suggest we should expect equivalent M3 variants.
However, according to a January report by Taiwanese research firm TrendForce, a new Mac Studio model will launch in mid-2024 with a more powerful M3 Ultra chip than we might otherwise expect.
According to the report, the M3 Ultra chip will be fabricated with TSMC’s N3E node, just like the A18 chip that is expected to debut in the iPhone 16 lineup later this year. This means it would be Apple’s first N3E chip. N3E is an enhanced version of TSMC’s 3nm process, offering slightly better performance and higher production yield.
A couple of days after the TrendForce report, Gurman said he believes Apple is working on a new Mac Studio that is likely to be offered with the as-yet-unannounced fourth variant of the M3 chip. This will, like previous generations, double the components of the “Max” version, meaning that it will feature up to 32 CPU cores and 80 GPU cores. Gurman says that it is likely to launch in the second half of 2024.
Mac Pro
Along with the Mac Studio, Apple updated the Mac Pro with M2 series chips during WWDC in June 2023. The Mac Pro is only available in a single chip configuration, and currently ships with the M2 Ultra chip that’s used in the Mac Studio.
Logically then, we should expect the next Mac Pro to receive an update to add the same M3 Ultra chip alongside the Mac Studio, just like it received the M2 Ultra chip last year. Like previous generations, this will likely double the components of the “Max” version, meaning that it will feature up to 32 CPU cores and 80 GPU cores.
Indeed, Gurman thinks Apple is likely to refresh the Mac Pro with this new high-end chip in the second half of the year. Notably, he does not believe that Apple is likely to again abandon the machine after only one year.
MacBook Pro – Already Updated
Apple in November 2023 updated its MacBook Pro lineup with M3 and M3 Pro chips, so the company’s work is already done in that regard.
Apple has so far adopted an 18-month cycle of M1 to M2, and M2 to M3, so it would be reasonable to assume a 2025 launch for M4 MacBook Pro models if Apple sticks with the same tempo. Incidentally, such a roadmap tallies with rumors of the first MacBook Pro with an OLED display and possibly even a touchscreen.
18 de julio de 1994: Apple lanzó las computadoras Macintosh Quadra, LC y Performa 630, tres computadoras similares con pequeñas diferencias diseñadas específicamente para los mercados de uso profesional, educativo y empresarial. Dirigidas al uso multimedia, las nuevas computadoras Mac de la serie 630 ofrecen hardware y software innovadores a un precio más razonable que las computadoras Apple anteriores.
May 3, 1984: Apple marks the all-important first 100 days of Mac sales, signaling whether the product launch is a hit with customers.
April 27, 2008: Psystar’s first Mac clones ship to customers. The new Open Computer means that, for the first time since the mid-1990s, there’s no need to assemble a “hackintosh” to run OS X on a non-Apple computer.
